Posicionando Portugal no contexto mundial da produção e investigação em leguminosas para grão

Resumo

Despite the health and ecological benefits of grain legumes (also named pulses), their cultivation and human consumption throughout Europe has been in a constant decline since 1961. To understand the present Portuguese challenges, we performed an evaluation of the Portuguese grain legume production, trade and consumption trends through the analysis of Portuguese and international statistical data from the last 50 years. Portuguese grain legume research efforts were also quantified through the analysis of the bibliographical outputs over the last 25 years. This allowed us to characterize the Portuguese research potential to overcome the identified present production/consumption weaknesses.

In the Portuguese context, common beans, faba beans, chickpeas and lupins are the most relevant grain legumes. Unfortunately, Portugal has followed the European trend and became a net importer of grain legumes, although it holds highly potential genetic resources and scientific expertise to reverse this trend. Portuguese grain legumes situation reflects a specific historical framework and consumers preferences, with alternative markets, as consumption of green peas, and a few recent promising changes, as seen in national chickpea production, although still in an incipient way. Probably what is really missing is a conscious and serious investment in the Portuguese food security and ecological sustainability.